THE GRIZZLY BEx\R 263 



a second shot at such close range that the powder 

 from his rifle burned the hair on the bear's side. The 

 second shot proved fatal, and the bear fell over dead, 

 much to the gratification of the orderly, who was ter- 

 ribly frightened. 



A heavy repeating-rifle is the weapon for bears. It 

 is of the utmost importance that the rifle be clean and 

 in good working order, so that the second or any suc- 

 ceeding cartridge will not stick and prevent the shooter 

 from firing. I have seen the best rifles refuse to work 

 at an exciting moment, either from the cartridge being 

 a little large or the rifle being gummed with oil and 

 dirt. A heavy half-magazine rifle is the best; and it 

 is not a bad plan to put all the cartridges through once 

 or twice to see that they run well before going into 

 the woods for a day with the bears. It is almost a 

 certainty that a wounded grizzly bear will fight. He 

 will often charge, and I can imagine no more danger- 

 ous position in the field than that of a sportsman in 

 front of one of these huge animals with a rifle which 

 refuses to work properly. 



Sportsmen long ago became aware that the pea- 

 rifles used to shoot squirrels and the small deer were 

 not suitable for elk, moose, and grizzly bears, and a 

 much heavier ball and charge of powder came into 

 general use in the West. The lighter rifle is, of course, 

 easier to handle, and one can do much better shooting 

 with it than with a weapon too heavy to handle nicely; 

 but the shock from a heavy ball seemed necessary to 

 stop the ferocious grizzly. There has been much dis- 

 cussion recently as to the comparative merits of small 

 and large bore rifles, and the relative stopping power 



